Politicians must quickly continue health reform and solve pressing problems.
Vienna (OTS) – The health care reform implemented by the federal government in 2023 was a first step that must be followed immediately by others, according to the tenor of the speakers at today’s press conference “Health policy needs more expertise” of the health platform PRAEVENIRE – Society for the Optimization of Solidarity Health Care. Based on the three topic areas: chronic diseases, drug supply and digitalization, they showed where the problem continues in the health sector.
New healthcare structures needed for diabetes
“A well-trained private practice area could take over over 80 percent of the services that are currently provided by hospitals and outpatient clinics,” explained Peter Fasching, President of the ÖDG and head of the Ottakring Clinic. To this end, in addition to the basic care provided by family doctors close to home, it is necessary to establish a further, specialized level of care in the private practice area, which takes care of those cases that cannot be covered by general medicine due to their complexity. This would significantly relieve the strain on these high-quality resources in the hospital sector. Essential for good treatment of type 2 diabetes is appropriate training of those affected in the disease and nutrition as well as guidance for patients in the disease management program “Active Therapy”, which is currently being revised by the Austrian Diabetes Society and will therefore be more attractive and service-oriented for doctors – and patient side should be. The basic prerequisite for doctors in the first and second levels of care to be able to play a more active role is that consultation time can be billed by social insurance, says Fasching.
Lack of information on the evaluation board of innovative therapies
The basic idea of harmonizing the therapy offerings in the hospitals is to be welcomed in principle, explained Gunda Gittler, head of the institutional pharmacy and public pharmacy of the Barmfühlen Brüder Linz. However, the current level of information about the evaluation board still raises some questions. So far, it has not been defined which drugs fall under the term “high-priced” nor what the actual approach to the decisions of this board should be. It is known that the board is expected to have an annual administrative expense of 3 million euros, but in the The new regulation does not mention any financing of the medication.
Overcome sector boundaries for optimal care
“By bringing together and sharing resources, data and expertise, we can ensure more holistic care and provide patients with the best possible care,” explained Karl Lehner, Managing Director of Upper Austrian Health Holding. The cross-sector use of ELGA as an electronic health record and a patient portal plays a crucial role in enabling the seamless exchange of medical information and improving treatment coordination. “ELGA must become the digital backbone of healthcare,” demanded Lehner.
Patient Summary will make ELGA more practical
The European Health Data Space (EHDS) approved at the EU level last week – a new law that is intended to standardize and make health data interchangeable across Europe – requires rapid further development of ELGA, reported Franz Leisch, PRAEVENIRE Chief Digital Officer. The EHDS calls on member countries to implement a “Patient Summary” – a quick overview of a person’s essential health data. The challenge in Austria is that although there is a great desire to use such a “patient summary”, it is unclear how it should be created. “Details regarding creation, storage and financing are still open, although this would be necessary for an urgent expansion of ELGA,” said Leisch.
Enshrining patient participation in law
“If you take the inclusion of patient voice seriously, you need formalized patient participation in the form of a participation law that gives the patient side a seat and voice in all relevant decision-making bodies at federal and state level,” explained Angelika Widhalm, President of the Federal Association of Self-Help Austria (BVSHOE). Although the BVSHOE was granted party status when it was founded in 2018, this only works at the federal level. The invitation to meetings is usually given at the benevolence and discretion of the respective corporation and institution and – if at all – only has an advisory vote. According to Widhalm, a benchmark for legally anchored patient participation in Austria would be all those committees and institutions in which patient participation has already been implemented at EU level.
New input on health system reform
The new edition of the PRAEVENIRE yearbook was also presented to the public as part of the press conference. In seven chapters, concrete and implementable recommendations for action for Austrian health policy at federal and state level were developed. You can find the current PRAEVENIRE yearbook 2023/2024 here.
More pictures in the APA-Fotogalerie
Questions & Contact:
Rainald Edel, MBA
PR-Consultant
WELLDONE ADVERTISING AND PR GMBH
Lazarettgasse 19/OG 4, 1090 Vienna
(T) 01/402 13 41-40
(F) 01/402 13 41-18
r.edel@welldone.at